Hoke wrote:Our esteemed Mr. B, who is too nice a guy and doesn't want to be perceived as being crass and commercial, also has a really good quality line of bitters at AZ Bitters Lab http://azbitterslab.com/ "Creating fun little flavor explosions so you don't have to."

His bitters are available for mail order, and he has some enticing ones...Orange Sunshine, Mas Mole, and Figgy Pudding (which does some interesting things with bourbon and rye). And for what it's worth, I heartily endorse them.

Another great link!

And as Tom V. notes, Mr. Bueker, if you get caught up in this frenzy, you'll soon be looking forward to the cocktail hour before dinner.

You're welcome Jim, sounds like you are a bit cocktail obsessed like me. If you haven't seen the magazine "Imbibe" you should definitely check it out. Has all kinds of great articles on cocktails and their ingredients, beers, liquors, coffees, teas, and the folks involved in all of the preceeding...and of course, a bunch of really interesting cocktail recipes in each issue. In fact, speaking of bitters, each issue includes a feature in the back which tells you how to brew up your own "something interesting" such as a bitter or orgeat or an infusion. Great magazine, I can't wait for each issue to arrive!

Hoke wrote:Our esteemed Mr. B, who is too nice a guy and doesn't want to be perceived as being crass and commercial, also has a really good quality line of bitters at AZ Bitters Lab http://azbitterslab.com/ "Creating fun little flavor explosions so you don't have to."

His bitters are available for mail order, and he has some enticing ones...Orange Sunshine, Mas Mole, and Figgy Pudding (which does some interesting things with bourbon and rye). And for what it's worth, I heartily endorse them.

So do many others I know! I now own but two bitters but my very minor experiments with them is such that I can see myself buying and needing many more. Liqueurs probably aren't my slippery slope, but bitters could well be.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Cloudy OFs are fine. Most Americans have this thing about preferring clear and uncloudy drinks, but you're not hampered by that so who cares.

The basic neon red maraschino is fine, but a nice bourbon-soaked Maraska cherry can add an entirely different and richer element to it. Less intensely sweet too. Luxardo cherries and the French griottes (forget the name now) both work nicely.

I understand your fascination with rye (and in large part share it), but eventually you can play around with the rye-heavy bourbons and get the best of both styles. Woodford Reserve and Four Roses are two of the best of those rye-heavy, with noticeable spicy-tangy dry rye notes. Don't bother with most Canadians and Blended whiskies though; they mostly get overborne by the orange and don't have the character or style to stand up well in the drink.

And now that the door has been opened, you can eventually tinker around with brandy old fashioneds (probably to sweet and clunky for you), the even better cognac old fashioned (way more complexity) the tequila anejo or smoky mezcal old fashioned...gosh, the possibilities are endless.

Thanks for the reccos on the rye-heavy bourbons. It's that spicy-tangy thing I so love in rye, even a relatively inexpensive brand like Bulleitt is enormously appealing to me. I bought it for my first forays into Sazerac making, then later, one night poured some all by itself to compare with a little bourbon--I'd not done that side by side test yet, had only compared them by taste memory which, good as that is in my case, had not yet sealed bourbon's fate. Side by side it was inescapable, however, that where all these small batch bourbons were interesting enough, my 'aha moment' is in rye. Can't wait to buy more.

And I hear you re the cherries and I'll look for the alternatives you mention. But I have to admit that good old maraschinos are one of those childhood treats I'm not over yet--I just love them!

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Personally as a salary-less student I can't quite afford the luxury of nicer whiskeys, but one drink that I've found that can make magic out of cheaper whiskey is the Godfather -> 2:1 Scotch:Amaretto. A fair bit sweeter than Old Fashoned and not quite as complex/refined but enjoyable

I do, however, have the good fortune of having an aunt from the town in Kentucky where Buffalo Trace is. She knows a bunch of the distillers etc. and always brings great bourbon to family gatherings - mostly George T. Stagg, but also Buffalo Trace single oak project, Booker's, even Pappy Van Winkle a couple of times (shit's crazy good). I rarely mix though - usually just straight or with an ice cube if it's barrel proof (i.e. George T). Side note: for those of you who aren't a fan of 140+ proof, this year's George T. Stagg is much milder (i think under 130) and comes with a strong recommendation.

Next year when I have a job and my own place, first order of business is stocking the bar!

Alex Judge wrote:Personally as a salary-less student I can't quite afford the luxury of nicer whiskeys, but one drink that I've found that can make magic out of cheaper whiskey is the Godfather -> 2:1 Scotch:Amaretto. A fair bit sweeter than Old Fashoned and not quite as complex/refined but enjoyable

I do, however, have the good fortune of having an aunt from the town in Kentucky where Buffalo Trace is. She knows a bunch of the distillers etc. and always brings great bourbon to family gatherings - mostly George T. Stagg, but also Buffalo Trace single oak project, Booker's, even Pappy Van Winkle a couple of times (shit's crazy good). I rarely mix though - usually just straight or with an ice cube if it's barrel proof (i.e. George T). Side note: for those of you who aren't a fan of 140+ proof, this year's George T. Stagg is much milder (i think under 130) and comes with a strong recommendation.

Next year when I have a job and my own place, first order of business is stocking the bar!

Barrel proof? Meaning, uncut for bottling?

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Although I'm not a fan of barrel proof/cask strength in general, I do of course like to sample it every now and then as a specialty treat. And it doesn't get much better than George T. It handles its potency pretty well.

And no, I wouldn't mix George T. or Pappy or the Parker collection with anything either.

The Cask Strength scotches give me more difficult problems. While I can taste them as specialty samples on the every now and then, some of them are so out of balance as to be difficult to truly appreciate. A quality that is superb when in trace amounts can be overwhelming and monotonous in stronger amounts. And I really do appreciate the art of a great blender who can mingle different scotches together to produce something spectacular.

Haven't had much of a chance to try much nice scotch, JW Green Label is probably my favorite of what I've tried. Enjoyed some Laphroiag and Glenlivet as well but only once or twice. Got any scotch recommendations?

Alex Judge wrote:Haven't had much of a chance to try much nice scotch, JW Green Label is probably my favorite of what I've tried. Enjoyed some Laphroig and Glenlivet as well but only once or twice. Got any scotch recommendations?

That, my friend, is a difficult question to answer---everyone has their own scotch faves, and there are so many to choose from, it's difficult to pin down even a few. Since you said Laphroiag I could recco some kindred spirits, such as Lagavulin or the incredibly smooth and charming Bunnahabhain or Bruichladdich.

I like the sherry aged Highland style, so I'd go with The Macallan there---rich, smooth, vinous from the oloroso barrels (but be careful, the original Macallan is sherry aged; the separate "Fine Oak Macallan" series is triple-barrel aged and very different. If I were going to offer a "Cask Strength" single malt, it would probably be the Macallan...but I never do, because it's hideously expensive, dammit, and I think cask strength (as I said before, are not drinkers, just oddities).

Probably the best all-around go to scotch, especially for relative beginners, and a constant favorite of mine, is the Highland Park from the Orkneys. It has that superb balance I love, the "just right" aspect, of light peat smoke, light brininess, and suffused richness of malt. The 12 year is good; the 18 is superb.

But as I said, there are soooo many. Bowmore. Balvenie is very popular. Glen Rothnes. The list goes on. If you want to out-peat the Laphroiag, there's always the Ardbeg (various releases, but the basic 10 year is a good place to start); or you could just swill around some old stale cigar butts, some iodine and some sea water into a cup of whiskey, stir in some bandaids, and drink that. (It's a controversial style. )